Bangayan, for his part, had denied that he and Tan are just one person and claimed that he does not know who Tan is.

He said he decided to surface at the Department of Justice (DOJ) Tuesday to clear his name to de Lima after he saw his photos tagged as David Tan in news reports.

Bangayan, who said his business is related to agriculture and metals trading, denied any involvement in rice smuggling operations in the country.

However, he said he is willing to cooperate in the investigation being conducted by the NBI.

There's no David Tan: lawyer

Meanwhile, lawyer Argee Guevarra, president of Sanlakas party-list group, claimed David Tan was just a creation of Alcala to divert the public's attention from the plunder complaint he filed against the DA chief and National Food Authority (NFA) administrator Orlan Calayag.

The plunder complaint, which was filed December 17 last year, was in connection with the alleged overpricing of Vietnam rice imports.

Being the sole importer of rice, the NFA earns large kickbacks from favored rice importers and traders, Guevarra claimed.

Also speaking with ANC Thursday night, Guevarra said instead of answering the issue and defending himself, Alcala just "disregarded" the plunder complaint.

"And soon thereafter, all of sudden there were news reports about this mysterious, phantom-like David Tan who is supposed to be blamed for all the country's rise woes," he said.

He accused Alcala of manipulating and monopolizing the rice supply in the country.

He said rice importation is totally controlled by the NFA.

Alcala, however, lashed back at Guevarra and said it is the mandate of the NFA to ensure buffer stocking.